Image: © Piscine26/Stock.adobe.com
University of Limerick academic Prof Tiziana Margaria will spearhead the research which will get a total of €5.87m in funding. Researchers will create a new platform which aims to mitigate the software engineering skills shortage in Ireland.
Several heavy hitters in the tech world are teaming up with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) to fund a research project that is investigating low-code and no-code approaches in software engineering.
The project is led by University of Limerick (UL). It aims to find ways developers can design and perfect apps with a minimal amount of coding knowledge.
SFI is providing €2.3m in funding, which will be matched by companies including Stripe, Analog Devices, Tines and Johnson & Johnson. Limerick City and County Council will join these partners in providing some of the funding, also. The total amount of funding that the project is to be awarded is €5.87m.
The announcement was made today (4 April) by Minister of State for Skills and Further Education Niall Collins, TD.
He congratulated the research team involved in the “strategic partnership” centring around Limerick’s industry and higher education institutions.
“It is an excellent example of collaborative research bringing local government, industry and academia together. The Government is committed to supporting cutting-edge research that will bring both societal and economic benefits,” said Collins, adding that he was excited to see the potential of the research to “transform the software development industry.”
The research programme will be led by Prof Tiziana Margaria, who is chair of software systems and co-director of immersive software engineering at UL.
She described the low-code, no-code approach as an “alternative to conventional software development where developers, as well as non-developers, are equipped with the tools to design, develop, verify and deploy applications quickly and with none to minimum coding requirements.”
The approach is gaining in popularity, and the research will support UL’s existing computer science offerings, including its Immersive Software Engineering programme.
The proposed research will work with industry partners to produce an advanced software development and integration platform. This will be co-designed by 22 PhD students and 4 postdoctoral fellows. It will help to mitigate the current challenge of the shortage of software developers.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
